Price: $3.00 USD
Publisher: Reviresco
The Fate VSF3
A Victorian Science-Fiction Submarine Kit
15" long x 4" wide x 4" high
Once the depredations of the mysterious Captain Nemo and his pirate submarine became public, the seafaring nations of the world went submarine-crazy. The Fate Armaments Company of West Grudger, New York, began to prepare a submarine vessel of their own.
The first of the Fate submarines was a side-wheeler which floundered on its maiden voyage. Fortunately, the ship was still in shallow water at the time. Although the Fate I was lost, its crew was rescued unharmed.
The second Fate submarine was steam-powered, and so hot inside that it nearly roasted the crew. Five minutes into its first test-dive it broached, the hatches flew open, and the scalded crew jumped into the cold waters of the lake. The sub fell back into the water; hatches full open, it filled with water and sank straight to the bottom of Lake Ontario where it lies to this day.
The third Fate submarine, however, was a success. This submarine, the Fate VSF3, was for several years one of the best small submarines available for export. Although rejected by the U.S. Navy (because it was too small and not impressive enough for a first-rate naval power), the Fate VSF3 saw service with several smaller nations. Even landlocked Moldavia had one which they floated in Lake Bicaz. The Fate VSF3 was one of several submarines engaged in the hunt for Nemo and the Nautilus.
Reviresco's kit of the Fate VSF3 features multi-layered PDFs, which offers a choice of four different camouflage schemes, and you can turn off or on the Fate advertising banners on the side of the ship.
The Fate VSF3 is featured in John McEwan's game of underwater combat, Terror in the Depths. The rules for Terror in the Depths will soon be available. Watch for it on this site.
